Performance suspension

[citruss]

Please help! I bought a used protege 5 that came with high performance suspension(tokico). While it handles great and looks great lowered, my wife is the one who is driving it, so there are some issues for concern. The problems that I am encountering include: excessive worn tire tread on the inside of all 4 tires(mileage is at 24,000 & tires are low profile on factory rims), excessive road noise. I've been told the suspension is not adjustable. But since I'm not an expert I haven't checked for myself. I am aware that lowering the car will cause the inside of the tires to wear quicker. What I will be resorting to is putting factory size tires back on. Hopefully this will take care of the speed bump problem somewhat, but I am questioning whether the tires will start to rub not to mention still wear-out the inside of the tread. If this happens, the next step is to restore the car back to the factory suspension(at a cost of $1200). I am trying to find out if the previous owner still has the factory suspension which would save some money, but I was wondering if there was another cheaper alternative, that would keep the car looking as good without going back to factory(plus I hate to lose the Tokico blue shocks). I haven't been to a mazda dealer because I figure they will cost the most, but I don't know if the goodyear tire store that I went to for the factory suspension price is the best way to go? I don't know if I went to a place that specializes in suspension would save some money or end up charging more. Is it possible to change just the springs to make the car a little higher or do the shocks have to be replaced as well? Whatever help or advice you can give me is greatly appreciated.

[Prodigy]

I dont think the tires will rub with the stock wheels.. back to the stock sizes.
Where's your location? I have an extra set of factory struts/springs/swaybar
All you'd have to do is get a set of factory springs for a slightly smoother ride.

[stdntDrvr]

camber adjustment.

[chaosProtege]

that'll raise the ride height a little too. and get an alignment.

[khaosman]

Putting stock sized tires should help the ride a ton... what size are on there now?

[zinx]

yup camber kit is the way to go

i had the same problem with my 92 honda prelude after lowering only 1.3" w/ h&r

i thought our cars dont have problem with alligning camber no matter how much we lower it.

am i wrong?

[chuyler1]

Tire wear is due to inproper alignment. The previous owner probably did not have a 4-wheel alignment after lowering the car.

Road noise has nothing to do with the suspension. If you don't have the stock tires anymore it could be caused by that. Don't forget that the Protege is not a luxury sedan.

Although the Tokicos are part of the harsh ride, you will not be happy spending $1200 to go back to stock. Even the stock suspension is stiff and will make the car sound like it is falling apart. The car was tuned to have a sporty feel...It corners better than most cars on the road.

Finally...I would stay away from Goodyear. I got screwed over by them big time. If you decide to do this, the dealer won't charge that much more.

[jonlong]

If you'd be intereseted, I have stock wheels and suspension on my P5. I might be willing to swap parts with you depending on how many miles are on the parts you have and what parts they are. That way you could get the factory setup which handles well, but has a softer, quieter suspension.

[jonlong]

Citruss, just reread your post and saw that they are tokico blue struts and 24k miles on the car. My car has just over 20k miles on it, so if you'd be interested in trading springs and struts, let me know.

What other aftermarket parts are on the car?

[citruss]

Putting stock sized tires should help the ride a ton... what size are on there now?

The size right now(in the pic): 205/45R 16 Falken tires

http://www.msprotege.com/members/citruss/front.JPG

Also as far the alignment, I asked the tire store if the alignment would keep the inside of the new tires from wearing out. They said that the computer is set to align the tires based on the factory suspension, which means I will need to get the tires rotated regularly to keep one side from wearing harder than the other. I'm guessing that if I take it to another (better) mechanic/tire store this could be corrected, I'm just not sure which one...I live in the West Palm Beach area.

[citruss]

Heres another view.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/citruss/side.JPG

[RaiderMP5]

I know that car I think! I bet it is Rider69 (mike's) old ride. He recently traded it in for a truck. I got his Racing Beat exhaust (you now have my old stock exhaust). I think he had a Mazzdaspeed decal on the side skirts. Blue shift knob too.

[xelderx]

Camber is not what is killing your tires. The toe is off. Go get and alignment and maybe a tire with a little more sidewall. Anything in a 205 series tire or smaller width will not rub on the stock wheels. I've got some 205/55 series all seasons on my stock rims and they clear just fine.

[RaiderMP5]

yup! you got Rider69's old ride!

[RaiderMP5]

I would take it to a decent shop to do the allignment, but they have to be able ot meet the new lower stance.

If she does not like the stiffness, one thing would be to put 205-50-16's on it. I have them with my stock rims currently without a problem. But I am upgrading to 17" wheels next month with 205-40-17's. I know it will be a little stiffer. Eventually, I will be getting the Tokico blue shocks, and some MSP springs I think. But thatis down the road, too much $ for that right now.

Anyway, your car was in good hands.

[chuyler1]

Tires make a huge difference. Going back to 195/50R16 will surely give you some comfort. A set of Toyo Proxes4 will run you roughly $360. I think they have a slightly softer side wall than the stock tires but have a much better tread. If you don't mind your speedometer being off a little you can try 195/55R16 or 205/50R16.

[citruss]

Thanks for all the input. The new factory size tires definitely helped! Still not the softest going over bumps but at least it's better. There is one other thing that needs to be done to save the tires from wearing out on the inside. I need to find a tire center that will do the allignment with the lowered suspension. Then, I've gotta give it a couple more weeks before I decide if the suspension needs to go back to factory, in which case I'll probably be checking with RaiderMP5 since he lives so close by. Thanks again for all the advice!